Jack's B-Day, Diep's B-Day, Halloween

Jack's 2nd Birthday - Diep made the cake!

One thing about moving to California and being near my family. For the past 6 years, I have been away from all the celebrations, birthdays, death anniversaries, family get-togethers. However, now I get to enjoy these events that many of us take for granted. Diep and Erik have been my second family and invited me into their home as soon as I moved to the area. In fact, I even lived with them for 3 months before moving into my own abode. They have 2 wonderful kids whom I have grown to love. Jack just turned 2 and is a typical young gentlemen (terrbile 2!) while Ben is 7 months. Jack loves to eat fruit and dance to my hip-hop, Tammy's jammies music, while Ben is a laid back guy who is discovering his passion in life which could be Elmo, Baby Einstein videos, and balloons like his brother. I never thought I'd get used to babies being around but Jack and Ben have definetly initiated me into this "other life". Diep made Jack's b-day cake and I had the honor of making her dinner on her birthday. Next is Halloween!

Diep's B-day...my dinner for her....

Bruschetta w/Tomatoes from the Garden

Bag of Mushrooms w/Herb Cream

Manhatten to Hermosa Beach

I woke up this morning like a typical Saturday, a little groggy from the Friday evening out before. I wanted to do something different today, I wanted to go to the beach. After all, I do live about 20 minutes from the beach, I need to take advantage. I pulled myself out of bed at 9:30 and got dressed to go jogging. I had a bit of trouble with my shin splits so I thought running on the beach would be perfect. I hear stories that running on the beach are the best for you knees, legs, ankles.

It was cloudy and dreary all morning in Pasadena and I drove over to Subway to get a sandwich. I needed some carbs for the run, Turkey on wheat, veggies and mustard. I must say I have more respect for the Subway chain after my meal, it was simple and hit the spot…I also had some ‘Baked Lays (sour cream and onion chips)’. I had half of these delights before my run. I arrived at Manhattan beach as the sun broke, and it was all blue skies from then on. I grabbed my ipod and headed for the beach. I had never run on sand before and was extremely anxious, jogging for the shoreline. I ran by the shore and I was running on ‘wet’ sand. The goal was to run to Hermosa Pier. With the sun beating on me and panting heavily to what seemed to be the hardest I had ever in life, many thoughts went through my head. I was going delirious, running up and down the shoreline, sun beating on my face and thought about how my mom would sign at me for I forgot my sunglasses and sunscreen.

I finally made it to the Pier, 1.3 miles in 20 minutes later. I walked back to Manhattan Beach properly on the bike trail and enjoyed the scene. The houses were amazing, big, quaint, all typical California beach living. The luckiest…dogs lounging on the beach chairs, the fit volleyball players drinking beer, the 30 year old moms running with the strollers, the 40 year men riding skate boards and most of all, the pure beauty and smell of the water. Today’s date is October 14 and I was running by the ocean where people were actually sunbathing around me!!?? I love California.

Grandparent’s Death Annivesary

Suckling Pig, The Alter, and my grandparent's as teens!

Grandparent’s Death Annivesary

For those of you that are unfamiliar with this ritual, Buddhists celebrate their loved ones death anniversary. It is extremely important and can even overshadow birthdays as a family celebration. My grandmother died exactly 20 years ago and my grandfather 5 years ago. We were all supposed to get together this year, my 11 aunts/uncles and their children, my 27 cousins, and also 14 second cousins, and unfortunately could not. My mom, a few other aunts and uncles held their own celebrations on the East Coast.

On this day, it was good to spend time with family and reflect on what my grandparents gave to us. We usually start off by preparing the food, traditional pork dishes like sausage/bolony, sweet rice, steamed chicken, steamed pork with crispy skin, and other goodies. My aunt ordered suckling pig this year. If it wasn’t for my grandparents' courage, perseverance, and support, we would not be in America today. For each of us, my grandparent's represented something different. For me, they instilled loyalty, hard work, and adventure seeking! Thank you Ong and Ba for everything and I miss you!

New York

Dinner I cooked



Seared Scallops w/Sweet Pea Qunoia Cake




Sirloin, Fingerling Potatoes, Asp, Barley Red Wine Sauce





My friend Gerlyn moved to New York, so I decided to hit the Big Apple in style. I was also able to meet up with my other friend Vin and see my cousin Michelle, while also meeting new friends, Eli and Lauren. The nightlife in New York is incredible, it's alive, incredibly diverse, and a food lover's dream. My discoveries on this trip were eating Pho in Koreatown at 4 AM, Chumleys, New York Pizza, Murray's Cheese shop, Long Island wine, the biggest doner kabob and that NY never sleeps! We ended up eating at 11 Madison Park, taking a food tour of Greenwich Village, seeing Rent, having a dinner party with guest chef (me), and staying out all 3 nights until 4AM. We also had the worse coffee experience at Cosi where Gerlyn almost swallowed a fly found in her coffee! .

Eleven Madison Park Dinner

Eat. Drink. No sleep. Gotta love my vacation.

Gerlyn and her coffee The Rain Man

Look familiar?

The Doner Kabob

Baseball on the West Coast

DODGER BLUE, Los Angeles, CA

People have always said that Los Angeles does not have the best sports fans. Coming from Virginia Tech, DC area, and Philadelphia, EVERYONE is die hard and I am not quite used to the no love. But I was able to go to a few baseball games this season and have changed my mind slightly.

There are two Southern California teams, the Dodgers and the Angels and ambiance of stadiums and even fans are unique in their own sense. Dodger Stadium is literally 5 miles from my house, right off of the 110 the oldest highway in California I might add. My cousin Tina, a Californian all her life and my host/tour guide since I moved out here, got tickets on the 3rd base line, 10 rows back. Dodger Stadium is one of the only stadiums left that is an independent for instance, not like STAPLES Center or FED-EX Field. The Stadium is old but kept up with scarce food choices. I was told to get the classic ‘Dodger dog’, a 12 inch dog which I rate a C+ , the plus for originality. First off, everyone is late in LA, hence, we arrived early, in the middle of the 1st inning. Crowds starting filling the stands by the 3rd inning when it got rowdy with beach balls flying and by the 5th inning, fans were hauled off for drunken banter and fights. The amazing phenom was this game was no where near playoff time and it was packed. I enjoyed seeing the ‘Dodger blue’ with palm trees and mountains tucked in the background.

THE RALLY MONKEY - Anaheim, CA


I usually go to Angels stadium with my cousin Ha and husband Tim. This year, there was an addition, Hayley, my newest cousin. The crowd at Angel stadium is much like Camden Yards in Baltimore, family oriented, fun loving, folks. The stadium is new and overlooks Orange County on one side and the 5 freeway, food selection is decent, and the bonus was the fireworks display at the conclusion of the game!